On the 21st November, the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) published  a report entitled, “EU circular economy and trade: Improving policy coherence for sustainable development”. The report aims to examine the foreseen impacts of implementing circular economy measures in the EU on international trade and consequently on third countries.

The Report paper examines the interface between the EU circular economy, trade and sustainable development. It identifies the expected global impacts associated with the EU’s shift to circularity and investigates the role of trade in either incentivising or hindering this process. Finally, the paper highlights the links between the circular economy, trade and sustainable development, emphasising the need for better policy coherence among these areas in the EU. 
While the circular economy has gained a lot of attention domestically, the impacts of the EU’s shift to a circular economy on the rest of the world through international trade have remained largely unexplored. However, awareness of the need to look beyond the EU’s borders is increasing rapidly, brought forward particularly by the aftermath of China’s ban on waste imports for recycling in 2017. 
 Copy of the Report is available HERE